Les Yeux Noirs to Perform at UNCA February 13

Les Yeux Noirs

The French octet Les Yeux Noirs will perform their unique blend of high-energy Gypsy jazz and Jewish music at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, at UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. The concert is open to the public.

Les Yeux Noirs, French for "The Dark Eyes," takes its name from the title of a Russian Gypsy tune made famous by Django Reinhardt in the 1930s. Brothers Eric and Olivier Slabiak, both classically trained in violin at the Brussels Conservatory, founded the group 10 years ago. They are backed by cello, acoustic guitar, electric bass, double bass, vocals, cymbalum, accordion and drums. Several members of the group previously performed with the legendary Gipsy Kings. Les Yeux Noirs mixes the music of Gypsy, Romanian and French cultures as well as the influences of Russian, Armenian and Hungarian traditions. The songs are sung in Russian, Yiddish and Roma.

The Bangkok Post heralded Les Yeux Noirs as "the boyband of a lost era." Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times said of a recent performance, "Led by a pair of virtuosi, violin-playing brothers, Eric and Olivier Slabiak, the group’s presentation lured the audience into all-join-in musical participation, a colorful coda to an immensely entertaining weekend."

Tickets for Les Yeux Noirs concert are on sale now and are $18 general admission. Call 828/232-5000 to order your tickets by phone. Tickets may also be purchased with cash or check only at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe, 55 Haywood St., downtown Asheville.

For more information, call UNCA’s Student Activities Office at 828/232-5000 or visit the Web site.

Media Contacts:

• Bunny Halton-Subkis, UNCA Student Activities Assistant Director, 828/232-5000
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526